Public Employee Press

Pay raise and $8,000 upgrade for five at DEP

Five clerical workers at the Dept. of Environmental Protection's inspections support unit got salary increases and $8,000 each in back pay in settlement of their group grievance. After the settlement, DEP upgraded them from Clerical Associate Level 1 (base pay $24,000 under the 2008-2010 Clerical Agreement) to Level 3 (base pay just over $29,500).

The Local 1549 members raised the issue of their out-of-title work in 2011 at a lunchtime meeting with Council Rep Eddie Douglass, worked with him to build the evidence for the case and filed the grievance late that year.

"This took a long time to resolve, but their persistence paid off," Douglass said.

Attorney Thomas Cooke of the DC 37 Legal Dept. hammered out the settlement with the city, saving both sides the time and expense of arbitration.

"The lesson is that members should know their contract and learn how to enforce it," Cooke said. "Unfortunately, the grievance process tends to drag on more than we would like. We try to encourage members not to get discouraged and to keep their eye on the prize." Tiffany Greats is one of the workers enjoying the prize.

"We realized we were doing out-of-title work when we found out about the titles of other employees doing the same work," she said. "We looked at our tasks and standards and found out that we should be getting paid at a higher level."

Several Local 1549 members - who were unwilling to join the grievance while Greats and four others went up against management - also got upgrades.

The members who joined Greats in the group grievance were Melinda Jack, Chinesta Jenkins, Lashon Beaufort and Christine Mondjii-Adlerberg. They handle water bills and paperwork related to meter upgrades.

"If you feel you are working out of title, make it your business to file," Greats said.